“That’s—”
“You need to give her your blood.”
“What?” Daris shouted, aghast.
Rydon did not hesitate. He grabbed Terena’s sword and sliced his wrist. Handing the weapon over to Daris, Rydon held his wrist over Terena’s slightly parted lips.
“Drink, girl,” Melanos whispered. Rydon watched Terena’s face. A few beads of sweat dotted her forehead, her face pale. She seemed lifeless.
Rydon’s blood dripped into her mouth, and he heard someone moan behind him. He glanced over his shoulder to see Croak huddled on the ground, watching them with huge, haunted eyes.
He turned back to Terena. She was so still. Rydon squeezed his wrist, more blood pouring onto her lips. “Come on, Ren,” he muttered.
His pulse thundered in his ears as he repeated those words, over and over until despair wrapped around his heart. His hands shook and a sharp sting behind his eyes made him gasp.
She was dying. He knew it.
He would die now, too.
Melanos reached out and snatched Rydon’s wrist, bringing it toTerena’s lips. Daris shouted again and grabbed hold of Rydon’s wrist, too, when Rydon’s eyes widened in shock.
Terena’s eyes fluttered open.
Melanos pushed Rydon’s wrist away from Terena and leaned close enough to block out Daris.
“Terena?”
Terena looked up at him and blinked.
Melanos winked at her and patted her knee before standing.
Croak rushed forward, looming over Daris as he looked down at Terena. “She’s alive?”
“Wipe your snot, boy,” Melanos said and slapped Croak on the back, sending him stumbling forward into Daris’s back. “She’ll live.”
“Is she dead?”
Croak had taken a seat on the couch by Terena’s legs. From the gasps around the room at Melanos’s question, the god quickly added, “Is Bethana dead?”
Daris stood and scrubbed a hand over his face. He looked exhausted, his face haggard. It was the first time Croak had ever seen him looking less than handsome, the scars on his face pinched and standing out even more against the pallor of his skin.
Terena continued to sleep soundly, cocooned in the plush couch with several furs thrown over her from a snap of Melanos’s fingers.
“No, she is not,” Daris answered. “As soon as she was free of Terena’s arm,” he said this with a wince, “I severed her tail. She chased after us, but we lost her. My only thought right then was of Terena and getting us out of there.”
“And where were you that you couldn’t stop what happened?”
Daris looked over at Gabriol, standing next to Rydon with his arms crossed as he glared at Daris.
The commander’s jaw tightened, the color high in his neck and cheeks. “I was looking for a way out. Terena was tired from walkingon that leg and I set her down for a moment’s rest. I was on my way back when I heard their voices.”
“What were they saying?” Rydon asked.
“The serpent—Bethana—said she smelled likethem.”
Croak made a noise and looked over at Rydon, who was watching Daris through narrowed eyes, his arms crossed at his chest.
“What’s that mean?” Michael asked, his eyes moving from Daris to Melanos. The god was stroking his chin, looking off into space.
